The Denver Broncos handed the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season with a 21-17 win at the Lincoln Financial Field on Monday. Afterwards, head coach Sean Payton gave an impassioned post-game speech to his squad in a locker room filled with smoke.
Many, including Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, were initially left confused, with the journalist even posting on X as he thought that there had been a fire at the stadium.
“Is there a fire at the Linc?” he wrote on the social media platform, before quickly clearing up the confusion, even though the smoke may have taken more time.
“Got this cleared up … it's a smoke machine Denver has for wins,” he wrote.
Got this cleared up … it's a smoke machine Denver has for wins. https://t.co/zW3R9W9VFN
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 5, 2025
There was so much smoke in the locker room that Payton even appeared to hide behind it for part of his speech. The Broncos had fought back from a 14-point deficit by scoring 15 in around five minutes in the fourth quarter.
Denver were led by Bo Nix, who scored thrice on three possessions in the fourth quarter as they finished it 18-0 to round off the win. Payton’s post-game speech to his players perfectly captured the emotion.
“We came here to win a game and I can’t tell you – and I know on behalf of the coaches and ownership and everyone else – how proud we are of the way you played today. When you play a team like that, it’s never going to be perfect, but man, not once did we flinch. And that’s what you have to do to beat a team like that and you did it,” he was heard proclaiming through the smoke.
The Broncos moved to a 3-2 record with the victory and will now take on the New York Jets on Sunday. The Eagles, on the other hand, will look to bounce back quickly against the New York Giants on Thursday.